I had a great day today. well it was nutty but good. Morgan worked this morning and we had a good visit. after lunch the pups and I took a break in the weather and walked at the park. unfortunately the weather break did not last through our walk and we were drenched! and I mean soaked. still it was warm and we didn't care. we even saw a bit of the memorial day ceremony at the cemetery and got a sweet hug from my friend Sasha, who also happens to be my sister Rosey's step daughter. nice.

I have been making things for these upcoming shows! fun new pins and bunnies. tonight I even made some dogs with bees. and old friend called and played a song for me that he had written. R & B of course. fun.

life is good and I am blessed. I'm starting to feel like me again...

my daughter is in China! and she is having the time of her life. she is there on a research trip through the Valparaiso School of Business. I am so excited for her! I can't wait to hear all about it!

this has been a great weekend! ben came down and we had fun as well as getting some work done around the house. we borrowed my friend susie's power washer and cleaned off the front deck. it looks like brand new now instead of 20 years old or so. I love it. today I mowed, walked the dogs and cleaned out my pond. yuck what a mess!

today is Jack's 1st birthday!!! we celebrated all day long, with waffles for breakfast, hamburgers for lunch and soon ice cream as a treat. he is a very good dog.

Obviously I wasn't fine and it took a while to sort things out. I haven't felt like sharing for a long time. My year started out pretty painful, got worse, but I am doing better. the sun is warm these days and I have lots of yard work to do. shows are coming up and I am so happy about that. travel, people, contact.

it is good.

here are a couple of Ben's dogs! with garden shows coming up, I thought they were appropriate.

I sincerely promise to write more often!

Mud Puppies!

I'm back. it has been a hard month and a half. life must be filtered and sometimes survived. I am fine.

I had my back yard fenced in! the dogs got a little adventurous for my taste so now they are safe and sound. they have their own private pool (my pond), trees, rocks and a great big dirt pile to play in. leon was in the pond and in the dirt os much yesterday he came out looking like this!

funny how life is. we have wonderful rewarding days and then life takes a very sad turn. my mother died last night. she has had a series of strokes and finally was unresponsive. my dad, bother and older sister were with her when she passed, it was peaceful.

I drove up today and we all made the funeral arrangements. I am staying with Dad tonight. he seems to be doing okay, though he misses her so very much already. it is so sad. they were married over 61 years! the viewing is Tuesday and the funeral on Wednesday.

I had such a good time doing the installation for the gallery showing. they loved my pieces and it was fun visiting and meeting people. the santa set that was on the invitation is sold already!